https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpMe01apxQs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0qNR67fQv-mr3G7-WnMW-FHWNC8ta4_Fy_OEsEhKzgXweOJ6Wra6wxgn4
If you copy and paste the above, I hope you can see and hear the service from TODAY, March 22, 2020 from London. If not, then type my post title into the search engine on YouTube. It is from London's oldest parish church, St. Bartholomew the Great.
Today is Mothering Sunday in England. (Mother's Day). It is always the 4th Sunday in Lent, 3 weeks before Easter. My English mother-in-law always preferred "Mothering Sunday" over "Mother's Day", so that is what we always wrote on her cards for this day. (She passed away two years ago this March. I miss her.)
If you are able to see the video, you will notice that there are only four people in the choir. The sound that comes from just four souls is incredible. Listen and hear for yourself!
The entire service is very moving. If you don't have time to listen to it now, perhaps you could come back later to see and hear it.
This is an Anglican Service, it is the Episcopal Church in the USA. The service features the Collect in Times of Plague and Sickness from the 1928 Prayer Book. And a collect is a special prayer written about a specific subject. The Book of Common Prayer is online, you can see it just here. On the side, you can click on "Collects" and see for yourself. (The one that is online is from the Prayer Book of 1979.) Also, don't miss to click on Prayers and Thanksgivings!
Richard and I were just here in October of 2019. These are a few photos from that time. We went there for a classical guitar concert and we sat on those chairs on the right side that you see above. I was more awed by sitting in this ancient church and only wished I could attend a church service there. Now, I am pleased that I can "attend" one from my computer.
Let me just say, if there are any negative comments on this post, I will delete them as soon as possible. My blog, my rules! Having said that, as I delete any spam or bad comments, I will pray for you. Be kind to one another and outdo each other in giving encouragement and hope. May peace fill your heart this day, and every day.
John 1:5 The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
Oh dear, if you're getting a lot of spam or trolls, you'll have to put on "comment moderation" like the rest of us in the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteI would do that but I have a few friends in England who sometimes comment under Anonymous. I might have to though, it is driving me crazy.
DeleteNo bad comment from me! I love this music and am also awed by these old churches. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you like it too! Hope you are doing well, my Georgia friend!
DeleteThe goodness of people will overshadow the bad behaviour and attitude of some.
ReplyDeleteIt always does.
Bless you, Lee, I do wish we had more of the good ones though!
DeleteOh wow! That is such a beautiful church.
ReplyDeleteIt IS a beautiful church and parts of it are so ancient, it is awe inspiring.
DeleteLovely place.
ReplyDeleteI have photos somewhere but I think they may be slides.
Well worth a visit.
Hey Ad Man! You have visited the church and know it is special. I loved this service from there too.
DeleteMy local Church of Scotland did a televised service too.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many did services this past Sunday and put them on line. It is getting scary, we need more prayers than ever.
DeleteTV, radio and online services are increasing here, too. A friend of mine who rang me yesterday is a devout Catholic, and she says she feels like a new person every time she attends mass that way.
ReplyDeleteOld church buildings have something that newer ones somehow lack; I can not really explain what it is, maybe the sense of so many worshippers who have been there before us, those walls have heard so many songs of praise and words of faith that they have somehow become part of the fabric of the building.
I think you are right. The very first time I saw these churches in England, I was amazed at the "feeling" of the generations from the centuries before who would have worshiped at the churches. "A fabric of the building", exactly so. xx
DeleteHappy Mothers Day! Good to remember all mothers and be thankful for them. We wouldn't be here without them. Thanks for sharing this beautiful church. Thankful for all the sharing on line these days/
ReplyDeleteWe need your sunny side of life, my friend. Stay positive. xx
DeleteThat church sure looks huge!
ReplyDeleteThere are larger ones but it is very old.I think the columns are the oldest parts. It is something to touch them and to think of all those who have walked past them before.
DeleteThis was very beautiful, Kay....I am not a baptist but found myself listening to a sermon by the husband of a baptist blogger in the UK. It was very good. You could find it here:http://angalmond.blogspot.com/2020/03/normal-service-will-be-resumed.html
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you liked it. I am from Georgia, so I have been to some Baptist churches in my life! So, I thank you for that link, I will check it out.
DeleteBeautiful church. I bet the acoustics in that church are excellent.
ReplyDeleteAh, you are the musician so you look at it and think that the acoustics would be very good. You are correct!
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